Chelsea takes title advantage
EPL: Chelsea took a massive step towards the Premiership title with a 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield. Steven Gerrard gifted Drogba the first with a poor back pass in the first half before Frank Lampard made it safe with Chelsea’s second early in the second half. Manchester United ensured the title race will be decided on the final day of the season as Nani’s goal saw Sunderland in a 1-0 win. Fresh from their Europa League exploits, Fulham defeated West Ham 3-2 thanks to Clint Dempsey, a Carlton Cole own goal and one from on-loan striker Stefano Okaka. Manchester City ensured a winner-takes-all midweek showdown with Tottenham after destroying Aston Villa’s Champions League hopes with a come-from-behind 3-1 win. John Carew gave Villa the lead before Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Craig Bellamy all hit back for City. Christian Benitez scored his first home goal for Birmingham in what proved to be the winner as they defeated relegated Burnley 2-1. Portsmouth ended a season to forget with a performance to remember, winning their final home game of the season 3-1 over Wolves. Tom Huddlestone fired a rocket to put Tottenham one step closer towards Champions League qualification as they edged Bolton 1-0. Everton’s hopes of a Europa League spot ended with a 0-0 draw at Stoke.
Real leave it late
La Liga: Real Madrid needed a last-gasp winner from Christiano Ronaldo to seal a brace and 3-2 victory over battling Osasuna to keep a point behind defending champions Barcelona at the top. Barcelona put their midweek Champions League disappointment behind to dispatch Villarreal with consummate ease in a 4-1 win. Lionel Messi got a brace while Xavi and Bojan added the others. Relegation battlers Real Zaragoza earned a priceless 1-0 victory over Deportivo. Adrian Colunga scored the winner on the 50-minute mark. Substitute Felipe Caicedo struck a late equaliser to give Malaga a share of the points in a 1-1 draw with Sporting Gijon. Tenerife boosted their chance of Primera survival with a 2-1 win over Racing Santander. Valladolid’s hopes of survival took a blow as they could only manage a 0-0 draw with 10-man Getafe. Nikola Zigic started for Valencia as he struck both goals in their 2-0 win over Espanyol. Xerez continued their fight to avoid the drop with a 2-1 win over Almeria. Mario Bermejo struck the winner in the 90th minute. In a dress rehearsal for the Copa Del Rey final, Sevilla defeated Atletico Madrid 3-1, thanks to an Alvaro Negredo brace. Mallorca kept up the chase for a Champions League birth with an easy 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao.
Juventus out of Champions League
Serie A: Juventus’ hope of Champions League football next season all but ended as they could only muster a 1-1 draw against Catania. Catania went ahead through Matias Silvestre but Claudio Marchisio got the equaliser for Juve. Udinese and Cagliari both shared a point as their game ended in a 2-2 draw. Atalanta shot themselves in the foot as Federico Peluso scored an own goal to gift Bologna a point in a 1-1 draw. Bari emphatically ended Genoa’s European dreams with a 3-0 thumping. Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi struck a late winner four minutes from time to give his side a 2-1 win over Chievo Verona. Sampdoria maintained the edge over their competitors in the race for the fourth Champions League spot with an easy 2-0 victory over Livorno. Siena’s relegation was completed as they went down 2-1 to Champions League chasers Palermo. Inter Milan scored on either side of the half to keep their lead atop of Serie A. Walter Samuel and Thiago Motta got the goals for Inter. Roma continues to push Inter all the way with a 2-1 win over Parma. Francesco Totti gave Roma the lead before Rodrigo Taddei scored the second. Davide Lanzafame got Parma’s consolation. Ronaldhino inspired AC Milan to a 1-0 win over Fiorentina to guarantee automatic Champions League qualification.
Almost done
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich has all but won the Bundesliga title as they defeated Bochum 3-1 with competitors Schalke losing 2-0 to Werder Bremen and Leverkusen only managing a 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin leaving Munich with an unassailable lead at the top with one game to go. Cologne versus Freiburg and Stuttgart against Mainz both ended in 2-2 draws. Marco Stieperman scored a late goal to hand Borussia Dortmund a share of the points against Wolfsburg. Hamburg and Hannover both had big wins, respectively, with Hamburg beating Nuremburg 4-0 and Hannover 6-1 over M’gladbach. Substitute Prince Tagoe came off the bench to inspire Hoffenheim to a come-from-behind victory over Frankfurt. Tagoe scored twice inside the last ten minutes as the game ended 2-1.